The president and his surrogates have said repeatedly, "look, we always knew this election was going to be close; that it was going to come down to the wire." Fine. But that doesn't mean you have to help close the gap.

Stoicism still has a tremendous amount to teach us, especially in these passion-saturated times. What's more, the Stoic legacy has shaped our world in more ways than you might expect. Here are five reasons why Stoicism matters.

At the DNC, Bill Clinton restated his successful ideological hybrid of social progressivism, cultural moderation and fiscal responsibility. Barack Obama affirmed these same center-left themes. Let's compare the two speeches.